DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Lindemann-Ott House in Austin County. Now, some buildings just sit there. Four walls, a roof, maybe a porch.
But every now and then you come across a place that seems to collect stories the way a front porch collects neighbors — and friend, this is one of those places. It starts in 1870, in the town of Industry, Texas. A young man named Jacob Ott — he'd come over from Worms, Germany about five years prior — decided it was time to put down roots in the most literal sense.
He teamed up with his carpenter neighbor, August Gruensendorf, and together they raised a two-level structure that was built to do double duty from the very beginning. The bottom story? That was Jacob's bakery.
The upper story? That was his home. The man was living above the shop before living above the shop was fashionable.
Two years later, in 1872, Jacob married Friedricke Hoehne. And then, in 1875, something shifted in him. Jacob Ott set down the bread pans and picked up a calling.
He became a trial minister in the Southern German Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church — and he didn't look back. That ministry would span forty years. But the building he'd built with his own hands?
He sold it in 1880, to a man named Fritz Holze, who turned the old bakery floor into a general store. Then in 1884, Edward Lindemann and a partner named Franz Getschmann bought out the Holze store. Lindemann's family had come over from Wittenburg, Prussia back in 1854, and Edward had clearly inherited some of that old-world business instinct — because in 1889, he bought out his partner's half entirely.
Now here's where it gets interesting. In 1894, Lindemann moved his store across the street. And with the building suddenly freed up, he and his wife Julia moved their family right in.
The old bakery, the old parsonage of a man turned minister — it became the Lindemann family home. And in 1899, Lindemann made it his own in earnest, adding several more rooms and a porch. Then 1910 arrives, and the circle closes in the most unexpected way.
Edward and Julia's second son, Monroe Lindemann, married a young woman named Ella Ott — daughter of Jacob Ott himself, the very man who had built the house forty years before. Monroe and Ella moved in, and they stayed. Fifty-five years, the two of them, under that same roof Jacob had raised.
And it wasn't just Monroe and Ella. In 1946, Ella's sister Bertha Ott moved in as well. Bertha had spent her career as a practicing pharmacist up in Ohio.
She was honored by the Texas House of Representatives after her death — which tells you something about the kind of woman she was. The house itself is worth a long look if you ever find yourself in Industry. It's got a center passage floorplan, Queen Anne detailing, diamond-shaped shingles in the pediment, gabled dormers, fretwork, and those lathe-turned spindle-style posts holding up the porch.
It was built in 1870 by a baker who became a minister, sold to a merchant, passed to another family, and ended up sheltering the grandchildren of the man who first swung a hammer on its frame. Some buildings just sit there. This one kept a whole community's story alive.
What the marker says
This house dates to 1870, when Jacob Ott (1848-1932) began construction on a home with his carpenter neighbor, August Gruensendorf. The bottom story of the two-level structure was used for his baking business and the upper story was Ott's residence. Ott had settled in Industry five years earlier after emigrating from Worms, Germany. He married Friedricke Hoehne (1855 -1892) in 1872, and in 1875, became a trial minister in the Southern (German) Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, beginning a ministry career that spanned 40 years. In 1880, Ott sold the property to Fritz Holze, who operated a general store from the building. In 1884, Edward Lindemann (1859-1931) and Franz Getschmann formed a partnership and purchased the Holze store. Lindemann, whose family emigrated from Wittenburg, Prussia in 1854, purchased his partner's half of the business in 1889. In 1894, Lindemann moved his store across the street and he and his wife, Julia (Fisches) (1861-1938), moved their family into this building. In 1899, Lindemann made significant renovations, adding several more rooms and a porch to the house. In 1910, Edward and Julia's second son, Monroe (1888-1966), married Ella Ott (1890-1965), a daughter of the original homeowners. The couple resided in this house for 55 years. Ella's sister, Bertha Ott (1876-1961), moved here in 1946; she had been a practicing pharmacist in Ohio and was honored by the Texas House of Representatives after her death. The house has a center passage floorplan. It features Queen Anne detailing, which includes diamond-shaped shingles in the pediment, gabled dormers, fretwork and supporting posts that are lathe turned spindle style. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2010